File a plea of "Not Guilty" with the court to ask for a trial. Keep the court updated of your address and phone number. Read about your legal rights and plea options.

Ask the court for a hearing date to appear in court to have a judge explain the charges and your rights to you before you enter a plea. (This is NOT a trial.)

2. If your citation is marked Correctable, you must do one of the following within 30 days:

Provide proof of compliance to a law enforcement agency and your citation will be dismissed.

Respond to the citation as explained in #1 above.

3. If your citation is marked Mandatory Court Appearance, you must do one of the following:

Appear in court on the date and time listed on the citation.

File a plea of not guilty before the court date.

Warning: If you do not respond within 30 days, you will be sent a warning notice giving you 15 additional days to respond. If you do not respond after those 15 days, the court will enter default judgment against you for:

A fine in the amount shown on the front or, for mandatory appearance offenses, the maximum fine permitted by law. To find out the maximum fine, (1) contact the clerk of court; or (2) look at the CourtView docket at: records.courts.alaska.gov, AND

$50 in court and collection costs, AND

Restitution if required by law, AND

Forfeiture of any seized item listed on the front of this citation, AND

If your fine is $30 or more, you will also be assessed surcharge(s) required by statute, AND

If this offense involves a moving motor vehicle, points will be assessed against your driver’s license.

If this is a commercial fishing offense, points may be assessed against your fishing permit.

Efforts to collect this judgment will include attachment of your Permanent Fund Dividend.

If I say "Not Guilty" and ask for a trial, is there a filing fee to fight a citation?

What if I can't make my court date?

If you live far from the courthouse or have a good reason that you can't come to court in person, you can file a Request to Participate by Telephone, TR-525.
It is best to arrange your telephonic appearance well in advance of the scheduled court date. To appear telephonically you will call the number provided for the local court, at or before the scheduled time. Be aware that you may be calling into a conference line along with other people. Please be in a quiet place and do not speak unless it is during your case and you are responding to or asking a question, or testifying. If you appear by phone but want to present physical evidence (documents, photos, etc.), mail your evidence to court several days before the trial. Make sure to include your case number on any evidence that you mail in so the clerk is able to put it in your file for the trial. Find the court's address.

You can request a new date by filing Defendant's Request to Reschedule Hearing, TR-200. Do this at least 1 week in advance. You will probably have to waive your right to a speedy trial, that means you may not have your trial within 120 days from the date you initially requested a trial. If you have an unusual or restrictive schedule, it helps to include times when you will be available for the new trial date. In an emergency, call the court and you may still get a continuance.

How do I show proof I fixed my "correctable" citation and get it dismissed?

For any citation that is marked "correctable", bring the proof of the correction (documents and/or the vehicle itself) to the agency listed on the citation (either the Police Department or Alaska State Troopers) within 30 days.

For "No Proof of Insurance" or "Failure to Carry or Exhibit License" violations ONLY, you can show proof of correction to the nearest court clerk within 30 days. The court clerk will only dismiss the citation if you show proof that you had insurance or a valid license in effect at the time of the stop. The clerk will not dismiss the citation if you show proof that you got insurance after the police stopped you.

Can I get the citation dismissed if I complete a defensive driving course?

No, you cannot have the citation dismissed by completing a defensive driving course. You can check with the DMV to see if taking a defensive driving course might help to reduce the number of points assigned to your driver's license.

Can I negotiate to get the citation dismissed?

In some locations, you can talk to the prosecutor ahead of time to try to reach a deal. You must do this before trial. In most places the police officer will not negotiate but in a few locations, the officer may negotiate a deal right before the trial. The court does not negotiate deals for you.

If I agree that I did the violation, is there any reason to ask for a trial?

You have a right to make the police officer prove the case at trial. You are presumed innocent and don't have to present any evidence yourself, although you can if you want to. Sometimes, the police officer will not have enough evidence to convince the court, or the court will allow the officer to amend the citation in certain situations, even if you say nothing. If the officer does not show up at the trial, the case will be dismissed.

Can I say anything to influence the court's decision about my fine?

Cases that list a specific fine amount

Depending on the offense, there may be a statute or city ordinance that prohibits a judicial officer from reducing the fine amount so you will have to pay the set fine. You can ask either the prosecutor or the judicial officer if your municipality prohibits the judge from reducing the fine. If the fine cannot be reduced, the court will not order probation or community work service either.

The court DOES have authority to set the date that you must pay the fine if you need more time to pay.

Cases that do NOT list a specific fine amount

In cases that do NOT list a fine amount on the citation, the court has the authority to impose a fine for any amount less or equal to the maximum penalty.

Can I say anything to change how many points go on my license?

No. The law requires DMV automatically to apply the points, and the court has no authority to adjust them. Read more about driver's license points and how to reduce the number of points on your license.

Is driving through a red light because of a slippery road a defense?

No. For the most part, slippery roads are not a defense to traffic citations. The law expects drivers to keep their vehicles under control at all times. Most traffic infractions are held to a "strict liability" standard, which means you are responsible regardless of whether you meant to do it.

If I decide to go to trial, can I bring witnesses?

Yes, but their testimony must be relevant and satisfy the rules of evidence. The court is only interested in what happened on that day, not your character or how you normally drive (the court does not look at your record, good or bad). Also, a witness can only testify about what the witness saw first-hand, not what somebody else said happened. The police officer must follow these rules too.

If your witness will not voluntarily appear for trial, you can ask the court clerk to issue a subpoena requiring the witness to appear. However, you must arrange to have the subpoena served on your witness by another person over the age of 18 years, a civil process server, or a police officer. You are not allowed to serve the subpoena yourself.

Showing up with an affidavit or a written statement from the witness is not a substitute for the witness testifying in court. In other words, the witness must testify in person or by phone.

Will I get to cross-examine the police officer?

Yes. But this means asking questions, not arguing with the officer. If you don't want to ask questions, that's fine as it is not required. You would cross-examine if you think your questions will cause the officer to provide answers that will help you. You get your turn to tell your side of the story AFTER the officer gives his or her own statement.

Can I get a copy of the police officer's video or other evidence ahead of time?

Yes. This is called discovery and you have a right to review anything the officer will show or use at trial, including the police report. You must request this information from the law enforcement agency that wrote the citation before the trial. You may have to pay a small fee for paper copies or a DVD.

Can I appeal the court's decision?

Yes. You have the right to appeal to the Superior Court, but there may be additional fees. You will also have to file a brief, which is a document that explains what errors you believe the trial court made in your case. To be successful, you must show that the court made a mistake about the law or misunderstood the evidence. The fact that the court didn't believe you is not usually enough to overturn the decision. You have 30 days to start your appeal from the date the court found you guilty. Read more about filing an appeal to Superior Court.

Is there anything I can do to fight the charge if the court entered a default judgment?

If the default judgment was within the last 2 years, you can ask the court to "set it aside", which means to undo the judgment by filing a Motion to Vacate (Cancel) Default Judgment, TR-420.

There are two types of requests:

1. You did not get "proper notice" (for example, the officer did not give you a copy of the citation or the court didn't mail you a notice about your court date). This does NOT apply if you didn't read the citation or you didn't give the court a good address

2. If you did get proper notice, you can still make the request, but you must include information on BOTH

a. a good reason why you didn't respond or show up to court AND

b. a "meritorious defense": information that, if the court finds it to be true, would win your case at trial.

Make sure to fill out the "Certificate of Mailing" section below the signature area showing the date that you provided a copy of the Motion to the agency that wrote the citation (or to the city/borough prosecutor’s office if one is involved) by checking the correct box, and signing it.

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